STAR Labs

Dr. Emil Hamilton looked at the holographic scan of the strange alien artifact. The technology enabled him to view it in far more detail than a simple microscope, magnifying its molecular structure so it could be viewed with ease. But the more he examined it, the less he understood this strange crystal.

He sighed and turned his chair from the equipment providing the hologram and removed his glasses to rub his eyes. Hamilton knew his guest was waiting for answers and he simply had none.

“I’m sorry, Superman,” he finally said while putting his glasses back on. “This…sunstone you brought me, I just can’t determine anything about it other than that it’s not composed of any known elements.”

Superman reached into the equipment and took out the crystal, his face melancholy. “I was afraid of that.”

“Where did you say you found it?”

“It was…sent with me,” said Superman. “When I was a child, I came here in a pod. The people who found me, they didn’t know what to make of it. They thought maybe I was the product of some government experiment. But after my encounter with Brainiac, I learned I actually came from a dying planet.”

“Xenogeology unfortunately isn’t my specialty. I wish I could tell you more, but you might want to find someone better versed in these matters.”

“After your help with the Atomic Skull, you were the one person at STAR I felt I could trust,” said Superman. “I don’t suppose there’s someone you know who could provide deeper insight?”

“Well…” Hamilton stroked his beard as he thought through the possibilities. “There’s only one man I know of who might even begin to understand the sunstone. Problem is he left STAR a number of years ago.”

“Who’s that?”

“Virgil Swann,” said Hamilton. “He was a brilliant astrophysicist, the best STAR ever had. Even helped found our organization.”

“Where is he now?”

“I’m not sure. After he left Metropolis, he became something of a recluse. I’m not even sure if he’s still alive,” said Hamilton. “But if he is, he’s the man you want to talk to.”

LAST SON

By Dino Pollard

LexTower

Clark Kent still wasn’t so sure why he even came here. But his attempts to locate a last-known address for Virgil Swann had hit a dead end. Not even the Daily Planet’s resources seemed capable of finding the reclusive scientist.

Lex Luthor, on the other hand, might have the means. The only other option was the Batman, but Clark still wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Dark Knight. And Lex was one of his oldest friends.

They hadn’t spoken since the Toyman had kidnapped them both. Clark had tried to reach out, though the messages he left with Lex’s secretary had gone unreturned. So when he called to set up a meeting about Virgil Swann, he was surprised that Luthor’s secretary had called back almost immediately to set up this meeting.

The security guard gave him a visitor’s badge and directed him to the elevator bay. Clark entered with the LexCorp employees and pushed the button for the top floor. There were a few confused glances between them when they saw that—apparently, not many people visited Lex Luthor’s private office, which took up the entire top floor of the building. They must have wondered what business some mild-mannered nobody in an oversized blue suit had with the boss.

By the time the elevator reached the top, Clark was the only one left in the elevator. The doors opened and he was greeted by a lobby with one desk to the side of large floor-to-ceiling doors. The woman behind the desk was a stunning young blond woman actively working on her computer.

Clark walked up to the desk and saw the nameplate read EVE TESCHMACHER. “Umm…excuse me, Ms. Teschmacher? My name is—”

“He’s waiting for you, Mr. Kent,” she said. “Go on through.”

“Thank you.”

Clark walked up to the double-doors and they opened automatically. Inside the large office, he saw Lex Luthor standing on the balcony through the bay windows. Clark went to the balcony and the door opened for him and he stepped out to join Lex.

“Clark,” said Lex, nursing a glass of scotch. “Good to see you again.”

“Thanks for agreeing to meet with me, Lex. Though to be honest, I was a bit surprised you set this up given how none of my other messages were returned.”

“My apologies. You see, childhood friend or not, I’m always a little suspicious when I get calls from reporters,” said Lex.

“I wasn’t reaching out for an interview. I wanted to see how you were doing after everything with Schott.”

Lex looked at Clark and smiled. “Then I sincerely apologize.”

“How are you, anyway? Were you able to find out how Schott was able to breach your security?”

“I’m fine, thanks. And no, but my chief of security is on top of it. But we’re not here to talk about the Toyman, are we?”

Clark shook his head and reached into the satchel that hung from his shoulder to remove a notebook and pen. “No, we’re not. I’m trying to find—”

“Virgil Swann, yes, I know. I was surprised to hear that name. I don’t think anyone’s spoken to him in ten years,” said Lex. “But what I can’t figure out is why you’re looking for him?”

“STAR Labs said he was their greatest authority on astrophysics and believed strongly in the existence of aliens,” said Clark. “We know there’s at least one alien in the Justice League, and then there’s that creature they fought. I’d like to know what Dr. Swann thinks of these new developments, but I haven’t been able to locate him.”

Lex walked from the balcony back into the office. He went over to his desk and opened one of the drawers, taking out a simple sheet of paper.

“Do you remember how enamoured I was with astronomy?” asked Lex. “How we’d spend hours looking through my telescope at the stars, pondering what alien life might be like?”

A wistful smile played on Clark’s lips. “How could I forget? Those are good memories.”

“Yes, well, I’d read everything Swann had ever published. He was something of a idol to me over the years. And after I bought out LuthorCorp, I used my resources to track him down,” said Lex. “I’ve tried many times over the years to reach out to him. But my letters were all returned unopened.”

“Then how do you know you have the right address?” asked Clark.

“Because I went there,” said Lex. “He lives up in Alaska. I knocked on his front door and his nurse answered. Said he was unable to take any visitors and then closed the door on my face. Can you believe that? A door closed to even Lex Luthor.”

Lex held out the sheet of paper.

“You’re more than welcome to reach out to him, but I somehow doubt you’ll have much better luck.”

“It’s something, at least. Thanks, Lex. I really appreciate this.” Clark reached for the paper, but Lex held onto it.

“I have one condition,” said Lex.

“If this is about Hob’s Bay…”

“It’s not,” said Lex. “If, by some miracle Swann is willing to speak to you…could you tell me what he said?”

“You have my word,” said Clark.

“Your word…of course,” said Lex, then released his grip on the sheet.

Clark took the paper and saw the address at the top of the page.

“Good luck, Clark.”

Gustavus, Alaska

Surrounded by mountains and reachable only by a small, regional airport or a ferry from Juneau, Gustavus has a population numbering in the low hundreds. The perfect place to go if you wanted to be alone.

Which is why it made sense that Virgil Swann would make this place his home. Swann’s home was located just up the road from the center of town with a lot of surrounding, empty land.

It was a modest ranch home and Superman had arrived wearing winter clothing over his costume. He didn’t wear his glasses, though. Clark Kent wouldn’t be able to get past the front door, but Superman might. Except if he had dropped from the skies in full costume, that might draw more attention than Swann would be comfortable with.

Superman walked up the paved walkway to the front door and pushed the button for the bell. Lex hadn’t given any details about the nurse, so Superman was a little surprised to see that the nurse was a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark skin and a shaved head.

“Can I help you?” he asked, arms folded over his chest.

“Sorry to drop in like this, but I was hoping I could speak to Dr. Swann.”

“Dr. Swann isn’t up to visitors. Goodbye.”

He started to close the door, but Superman stuck his foot out. The nurse was surprised to find that just that foot was enough to keep the door propped open, despite him using both hands and all his strength to try and close it.

“I think Dr. Swann would be willing to make an exception in my case.” Superman pulled open his parka to reveal the yellow and red shield beneath.

“That’s not real…”

Superman gently rose off the ground. Just a few inches, but it was enough to convince the nurse that he wasn’t just someone wearing one of those t-shirts that had adopted his symbol.

“Could you ask Dr. Swann if he’d be willing to give me a few minutes of his time?”

The nurse’s mouth was agape but after a moment, he closed it and said, “Wait here.”

He closed the door and Superman did as he was told. There was the temptation to listen in to hear the conversation between the nurse and Swann, but Superman didn’t have any need to violate the man’s privacy, so he stayed still and instead just looked out over the surrounding mountains. It was definitely a beautiful place to live and he could understand why Swann had chosen Gustavus.

The door opened again. “Dr. Swann said he’d be honored to speak to you.”

“Thank you.” Superman walked through the door and removed the parka to reveal his costume beneath.

“Sorry about before, Mr. Superman,” said the nurse. He took the parka from Superman. “I didn’t know you…y’know…wore normal people clothes.”

“I thought Dr. Swann wouldn’t want too much attention drawn to him,” said Superman.

“He’ll appreciate that. My name’s Henry, by the way. You mind if I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Is Wonder Woman really that hot in person?”

Superman smiled. “She’s just a teammate.”

Henry led Superman to a closed door and knocked once. A voice granted entry and Henry opened the door for Superman, then closed it behind and left the two alone.

The room had several bookcases and each was filled to the brim. There was a large computer monitor on a desk against the wall and a man in an automated wheelchair. The chair turned and Superman saw the face he’d seen from the photos. Though he was older now, he still had his black hair and his blue eyes conveyed a mixture of kindness and wisdom.

“This is a true honor for me, Superman,” he said and then blew into one of the straw controls to move his chair forward. “I’m Virgil Swann. Forgive me for not shaking hands.”

“The honor’s all mine, Doctor. I’m sorry for arriving unannounced like this—”

“On the contrary,” said Swann. “I’m actually quite glad you’ve come. I’ve been interested in meeting you ever since you first appeared in Metropolis. But I didn’t know how to contact you.”

“Maybe I should look into a Supersignal, huh?” asked Superman with a smirk.

Swann chuckled. “Funny you say that. Because your symbol is the reason why I wanted to meet.”

“My symbol?” Superman touched the shield on his chest. “Why?”

Swann turned his chair and went back to the computer. He spoke a few commands and a window opened on the screen, revealing a series of strange hieroglyphics. Though Superman had no idea what they said, he could have sworn they looked familiar.

“I wasn’t always in this chair, you know,” said Swann. “Decades ago, I came to Gustavus to investigate a meteor that crashed not far from here. Except it wasn’t a meteor, it was a strange crystal I had never seen before. When I touched it, there was this flash of light and the object was gone. Over the next few years, my body started to fail me. Bit by bit, I lost feeling in my extremities until I finally became paralyzed from the neck down. But in exchange for the loss of my body, my mind had become overloaded with information. Symbols I had never seen before. It took years before I learned that I had been implanted with an alien language. The language of a planet called Krypton.”

Krypton. Brainiac said that was the name of his homeworld. Superman reached into the pouch in his cape and drew the sunstone, holding it up for Swann to see.

“Did it look like this?”

Swann’s eyes widened as they scanned over the crystal. He looked up to meet Superman’s questioning gaze and said, “Exactly like that.”

“And my symbol? You know what it means?”

“Hope,” said Swann. “It’s the Kryptonian symbol for hope.”

“Recently, I had an encounter with an alien artificial intelligence named Vril Dox. He—it—told me that I was Kryptonian and that this sunstone was a seed.”

“Yes,” said Swann. “My sunstone had passed on instructions for how to use their technology. Now I believe it was meant for you, but must have been knocked off-course. It was clearly not meant for humans, which is why it reacted negatively with my physiology.”

Superman’s eyes fell and he lowered his head. “I’m so sorry.”

“No apologies are necessary, Superman. You didn’t knock it off course. Besides, this is a small price to pay for the knowledge I was granted,” said Swann. “I consider that sunstone a gift. And I’m glad you were able to find me so I can finally share that knowledge with you. Though I confess, I’m not certain how you found me.”

“Your former colleague at STAR Labs, Emil Hamilton. He told me about you, but he said he had no idea where you had gone,” said Superman. “But I was able to get your address from Lex Luthor.”

“Luthor…?” asked Swann, his eyes showing concern.

“Yes, he said he tried to reach out to you in the past, but you never responded.”

“For good reason,” said Swann. “Lionel Luthor was the reason I left STAR. I didn’t approve of his desire to use alien technology for military applications. And judging from what I’ve learned of his son, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.”

“I don’t think Lex is anything like his father,” said Superman.

“Maybe you don’t know him as well as I do,” said Swann. “Be careful around him, Superman.”

“I’ll keep my eyes open, I promise,” said Superman. “But in the meantime, I’d like to know everything you can tell me about the sunstone.”

Arctic North

This was the area where Brainiac had parked his skullship. Where Agent John Corben had given his life to save not only Superman and Amanda Waller, but the entire planet. Swann’s instructions to use the sunstone suggested it would take up a good deal of land mass. Up here, in the arctic where not a soul existed, seemed the best place to test it out.

Superman hovered above the tundra, looking carefully at the crystal. He clutched it in his hand and closed his eyes, still not completely sure of what he was doing. The entire thing seemed vaguely ridiculous—all he had to do was throw it and the crystal would do the rest?

It couldn’t hurt. The crystal seemed impervious to harm, so even if it didn’t work, he could easily find it once again. So Superman flung it across the snow- and ice-covered terrain, watching as the small crystal spun through the air until gravity eventually reclaimed its hold.

The crystal fell in the snow and just rested there for a few moments. Superman used his telescopic vision to watch it.

At first, nothing happened.

But then, the crystal began to glow. The snow around it melted and the crystal slipped down into the earth, moving out of sight.

Superman flew after it, but just as he came close to the spot where it had landed, a giant crystal spire burst through the ground at an angle. Then another spire at the opposing angles.

The ground rumbled as crystals rose from the frigid ground, merging together and forming structures.

The whole process took about an hour, but Superman was so amazed that he couldn’t take his eyes off it even once. There wasn’t a single second where he felt bored waiting for the process to complete. On the contrary, it felt like it had all transpired in a matter of minutes.

Now, Superman found himself hovering before a massive crystal fortress of some kind, located up here in the solitude of the arctic.

What would he find inside? Should he speak to Swann before proceeding further? Maybe talk to his mother or Lana?

No, he had to face this on his own. Had to learn the truth and take those first steps into his future.

Superman hovered towards the front of the structure. He placed his hand on the crystal, wondering if entry was even possible. There seemed to be no openings, no doors of any kind. If all the sunstone did was build some sort of monument, then what was the point of all this? Why send the crystal with knowledge of how to operate it? Why give him these crystals at all?

But at his touch, the crystals began to hum. A soft light pulsed within the structures and there was another rumbling sound. A few of the crystals lowered back into the ground, granting him entrance.

Superman walked inside, his head turning at different angles. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside and he wondered just how much he would find in this place.

As he continued exploring, he eventually came to a large room. There was a raised platform in the center, with a row of crystals that seemed somehow different from the rest. Superman hovered from the ground, feeling himself drawn to these crystals.

Once there, he reached his hands out. The crystals rose from the console, pulsing with that same soft glow and hum as the entrance. He reached a hand out and touched one of the crystals.

The pulse became a solid light and then Superman looked up to see an image forming in front of him. It was large, going from the floor almost to the ceiling. And it was the form of a man with silver hair and a beard. He was dressed in what looked like a jumpsuit covered with robes. But on his chest was the same symbol that Superman wore on his own. And his blue eyes were of the same striking color that Clark Kent had seen in the mirror all his life.

The man offered a warm smile and then began to speak.

“It warms my heart to see you before me as a grown man. And that you proudly carry the symbol of your heritage.”

“Who are you?” asked Superman.

“My name is Jor-El of the Kryptonian Science Council. I am your father.”

“Fa-father…?” asked Superman. “But Brainiac…he told me Krypton was destroyed. How did you survive?”

“I see you have learned some of your homeworld,” said Jor-El. “I unfortunately did not survive. But prior to Krypton’s destruction, I copied my consciousness into the sunstone I sent with you in your pod. It is through this technology that I am able to speak with you now.  I anticipated you would have many questions and so together, in this fortress of solitude, we can find the answers together.”

“Who am I?” asked Superman.

“You are Kal-El. You were born shortly before Krypton’s destruction. Your mother and I did not want you to share our fate, so we sent you to Earth so that you might survive.”

“Can you tell me about my mother?”

“Her name was Lara. She was…” Jor-El’s face grew wistful as he spoke. Had the hologram been capable of tears, Superman had no doubt they would have formed.

An image formed beside Jor-El of a woman dressed in a similar style of clothing with the same crest. She had long, raven-colored hair and bore crystal eyes.

“She was the kindest woman Krypton had ever birthed. Her beauty was matched only by her intelligence. And the day you came into our lives was the happiest I had ever seen her.”

Superman smiled at those words. “And Krypton? What happened?”

The image of Lara faded, becoming a planet. The smile faded from Jor-El’s face.

“Ours was an advanced civilization, Kal. We had overcome war, poverty, and prejudices of every kind. We had mastered space travel and become a beacon of peace for the universe.”

Krypton grew smaller, zooming out to show a large, red sun.

“But Rao, the red sun that gave our world life, was a dying star. I had tried to warn my colleagues on the Science Council that Krypton’s days were numbered,” said Jor-El. “They refused to believe me. I was expelled from the Council and forbidden from expressing my views, lest I and my family be sentenced to an eternity of exile in the Phantom Zone.”

“The Phantom Zone?”

“A pocket dimension I had discovered. A place not unlike what Earthlings might call Purgatory. We used it as a prison for those criminals who were incapable of redemption…another decision on which I differed from my colleagues.

“As we could not inform the rest of Krypton of the condition of our planet for fear of retaliation, we told only my brother—your uncle, Zor-El. And then Lara and I worked to effect your escape.”

“Why didn’t you come with me?” asked Superman.

“Would we had more time, we would have,” said Jor-El. “Unfortunately, we only had the means capable of constructing a single pod. I chose Earth as the destination, because not only is its atmosphere capable of sustaining your Kryptonian physiology, but also because the yellow sun it orbits would grant you powers and abilities far beyond those of the rest of the inhabitants.”

“I have studied Earth and I have found its inhabitants to be capable of great cruelty…but also remarkable strength and compassion. Theirs is a childish race, Kal. And like any child, all they need is proper guidance, a light to show them the way.”

“So it was not only for your survival that I chose Earth, but because I believe these people can be a great people. And in my heart of hearts, I believe they also wish to be.”

“This is why I ask you to provide them with the leadership they so desperately need, to show them just what heights they are capable of reaching.”

Superman sighed and lowered his head. A gesture that did not go unnoticed.

“What is it?” asked Jor-El.

“I’ve lived here for almost thirty years. My father—the man who raised me—he felt the same as you. I think you would have liked each other,” said Superman. “He also believed that I was here for a reason and that people were basically good.”

“But…?”

“But…” Superman hesitated and then continued. “I’m not so sure I still share that faith. I’ve travelLed the world. I’ve seen that cruelty firsthand. And I don’t know if I can live up to your expectations.”

“You sell yourself short, my son,” said Jor-El. “Is this an easy task? Of course not. But you can give them an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, and yes, they will even fall. But in time, it is my firm belief that they will join you in the sun. And when that glorious day arrives, you will help them accomplish wonders.”

“You’re asking a lot of me,” said Superman. “I’m just one man.”

“This man you call Father…did he share your pessimism?”

Superman shook his head and said with no hesitation, “No.” Then he chuckled. “In fact, if he saw me now, he’d probably tell me to stop feeling sorry for myself and start doing the work.”

Jor-El smiled. “I think you’re right, I would have liked this man.”

“But how can I do it? How can I get them to follow my example?”

“You will show them through your deeds. And then, you must have faith they will follow your example.”

“Thank you…” said Superman, “…Father.”

“Remember, Kal. I will always be here to provide you with whatever guidance you need,” said Jor-El.

“I appreciate that,” said Superman. “I should probably go. I’ve got a lot to think about…and a lot to do.”

Jor-El gave his son a parting smile and then his image faded. Superman flew above the console and left it behind, leaving his new fortress and returning to civilization.